Raccoon poisoned in Toronto with bread soaked in windshield wiper fluid: wildlife group

An individual has been charged with animal cruelty after they allegedly attempted to poison a raccoon using bread that had been soaked in windshield wiper fluid, the Toronto Wildlife Centre says.

The animal protection organization said in a post to its Facebook page that the poison was left in a live trap at an undisclosed location in the city.

It says that when the animal entered the enclosure and consumed the bread, the “door snapped shut,” trapping her.

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“By the time she was found the poor animal was vomiting inside the constricted space,” the post states. “At the centre, our medical teams immediately got to work to save this young life. Fluids were used to flush the raccoon’s system, ridding her of the toxic substance.”

The Toronto Wildlife Centre says that windshield wiper fluid contains methanol, which can cause kidney failure that won’t be immediately detectable.

For that reason, a decision was made to keep the racoon at the centre under the care of a veterinarian for a week.

The animal, however, has since been given a clean bill of health and will soon be released.

“After a week of special care, Dr. (Diana) Sinclair confirmed the patient was on the mend and hadn’t sustained any internal damage,” the post notes. “Since then, the young raccoon has been moved to an outdoor enclosure, able to climb and explore in preparation for her release.”